Most citrus juice beverages, such as orange juice, are derived from a concentrate. Typically, juice and pulp extracted from various citrus fruits are processed through an evaporator system under vacuum which evaporates liquid (i.e. water) contained in the juice and pulp mixture, and leaves a citrus juice product or concentrate. Liquid is evaporated from the citrus juice concentrate until a 62.degree. to 65.degree. Brix level is achieved where Brix is the unit of percent sugar content of the citrus juice concentrate. The 65.degree. Brix citrus juice concentrate is then stored under required refrigeration at about 20.degree.-27.degree. Fahrenheit to prevent spoilage. There, the citrus juice concentrate congeals and forms a frozen juice concentrate. The frozen concentrate is sold to dispensing businesses who dilute the concentrate to a 12.degree. Brix beverage, package the beverage and distribute the beverage to industries such as restaurants and hospitals for bulk consumption, or to retail stores for individual consumer sale. Or the frozen concentrate is diluted to 42.degree. Brix for commercial sale in frozen form which is subsequently diluted by purchasing consumers to about a 12.degree. Brix juice beverage.
Besides varietal differences, juices differ due to weather (freezing) and other growing conditions. A proper mixture of fruit varieties and maturities must be used to obtain an acceptable color, Brix level and viscosity of the concentrate. While a higher final Brix level is desirable for reducing storage and transportation expenses of the concentrate, a low viscosity level is desirable to decrease difficulty in the pumping of the concentrate through the evaporator system and into and out of storage.
Several complications exist in this process. For example, throughout the evaporation process, the citrus juice concentrate becomes more viscous. Toward the end of the evaporation process, scorching or burn on and product build-up of the concentrate may occur due to reduced and inconsistent flow of the viscous concentrate. Such scorching is highly detectable in the taste of the finished product and requires cleaning of the evaporator. Hence, the achievement of higher Brix levels is limited by the viscosity of the concentrate.
Another problem concerns the storing and transporting of the concentrate. Large capacity freezers and refrigerated trucks at the proper temperature must be used due to the volume of space and temperature required by the juice concentrate.
Several methods of blending different varieties of juice and/or pulp have been used to address the problem of obtaining concentrate of a high Brix level and low viscosity. However, due to unpredictable weather conditions, different varieties and maturities of fruits may be produced from one crop to the next and from one season to the next. Thus, a different method of blending must be devised for each crop.
A centrifuge has been used to remove pulp and thus decrease viscosity of the initial juice and pulp where a change in season, maturity and variety (i.e. different cultivars and early to late season fruit) produces fruit with relatively more pulp. The centrifuge, however, causes the loss of two to three percent of the useable fruit product.
Various enzymes have also been suggested to enhance Brix level while maintaining a suitable viscosity level of the concentrate, but enzymes require the introduction of a foreign material to the juice which is not permitted under Federal Standard of Identity Regulations.